Fisco launching Japan's first cryptocurrency fund

Fisco launching Japan's first cryptocurrency fund

TOKYO -- Japanese financial information provider Fisco will launch a fund of more than 300 million yen ($2.66 million) to invest in bitcoin and other virtual currencies as early as this month.

Fisco will invest its own money and raise capital from two other listed fintech companies. It will aim for investment returns of about 20% per year.

In addition to investing directly in virtual currencies like bitcoin, the fund will seek to profit from price differentials among domestic and foreign cryptocurrency exchanges. It is being described as the first fund of its kind in Japan.

Fisco has been a Japanese forerunner in virtual currencies. A cryptocurrency exchange unit issued a bitcoin-denominated bond in August to group companies.